Improvement in horse-rakes



UNITED STATES VIr-rrijnwr OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT INV HORSE-RAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4S,l09, dated June 6,1865.

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, ARIEL B. SPROUT, of Hughesville, in the county of Lycoming and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horse Hay- Rakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan of a rake embodying my invention: Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same in the line a' x, Fig. I. Fig. 3 is adetached sectional view, illustrating the opera-` tion of the levers, hereinafter referred to, and also other parts. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the device by which the connection between the rake head and teeth is made.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral figures.

My present invention comprises new and useful improvements in the manner of operating and pivoting the rake and attaching the teeth to the rake-head, aswill be hereinafter fully explained.

In order that others skilledin the art to which my invention appertains may be enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings, A A arethe wheels', B theaxle, and C C the thills, all of which are of common construction. D is the rake-head, to which the teeth D are attached in the manner hereinafter described. E is a foot-lever pivoted to the head D, and having its fulcrum at d upon the aXle B or the frame C.

A roller, K, under `the lever E, pivoted in the sides of the lug or loop, reduces the friction of the said lever in raisingl the rake-head, and prevents it from binding as it rolls under the forward motion, which results'from the press ure upon the lever E.

By the depression of the forward end of the lever the rake isthrown down and held to its work,there being no direct connecti onbetween the rake-head and'frame of the machine. The lever E slides back with the downward and rearward motion of the rake-head, and forward when the latter is elevated, which is done by means of a hand-lever, YE', forked at its lower end to admit of itsA attachment to both the rake-head D and the tumblingbar F. The

rake-teeth are held at proper distances asun- `der, as well as'braced against vertical and lateral strain by guides.

The bar F is attached to the cleaners G or may rise accordingly, but in rakingup heavy y hay, or in bunching up hay, it is needful to prevent therising up of the fulcrum-bar by reason of the degree of play it has, owing toits attachment by the straps y. For this purpose I use rings, which slip upon the cleaner-bars y G and embrace the` straps, so as to prevent vertical action of the bar F relative to the cleaners. Thus when the hand-lever `E is turned forward to raiseand clear the rake-teeth the bar F forms the center of motion for the rake, and the head D falls, as shown in Fig. 3.

From the above description it is manifest that less power or strength is required to operate theA rake than if the head constituted the center of motion. When, on `suspending the operation, therake-teeth are elevated to their highest position, the head D assumes such position below the bar F as to partially counter balance thebackward and downward tendency of the teeth. The rake is retained inits working position by the foot upon thetreadle-lever a `of the cleaners shall be changed relatively to the shaft, so that when the latter are raised to suit a large horse the forward end of the cleaners, under the foot-board, may be lowered, so as to elevate the fulcrum-bar and preserve the relation ofthe points of the teeth to the ground.

The reverse operation adapts the machine to a l smaller horse. D

AThe rake-teeth Dl are each attached to the rake throu gh the medium of a pintle, H, formed with a flange, h, and a circular shank, which ing been rotated a sufficient number of times to give the tooth the required pressure, is secured in the leg H and against turning 'therein by a burr or nut working 011 the threaded shank of said pintle. By this simple contrivance the elastic force of the rake-tooth` may with facility be varied as circumstances may'render desirable.

The face of the shoulder on the pintle and the side of the lug H are grooved or serrated,

so as to interlock with each other and restrain the pintle from turning Without the necessity of screwing it up so tightly as' would otherwise be necessary. e

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l.. The foot-lever E, so pivoted to the rakehead as, by being depressed, to throw the rake from its elevated to its Working position, and by being held down with the foot to retain the rake in its Working position.

2. Attaching the fulcrum-bar F to the cleaners or other rigid parts of the rake by means of straps g, 'connecting the two parts of ahingejoint so as to alloWalimited amount of vertical play to the bar F, for the purpose described.

3. In combination With the straps g, the movable rings or their equivalent, for the purpose of preventing the vertical play of the bar F relatively to the cleaners under the circumstances described.

4. The extension in front of the axle of the cleaners G, Which support the rake-head, so

as by their vertical adjustment to regulate the height of the rake-head fronrthe ground at a given elevation of the shafts.

5. The rotating notched pintle-bolt H z, Y

with grooves therein corresponding to similar grooves on the lug H for coilin g the rake-teeth until the requisite force is attained, and for holding the tooth when coiled in position under the action of the nut on the bolt.

The above specification of my improvement in horse hay-rakes signed this 16th day of March, 1865.

A. B. SPROUT.

Witnesses:

' EDWnRD H. KNIGHT,

ALEX. A. C. KLAUCKE. 

